Riddell name coming off NFL helmets

ELYRIA — Riddell’s name won’t be on the helmets of professional football players next year, although the company expects players will wear Riddell helmets.
The National Football League previously branded Riddell as the Official Helmet of the NFL, but a league spokesman confirmed that deal will end.
In 2014, no helmet maker will have exclusive right to display a name on NFL helmets, said league spokesman Brian McCarthy.
Riddell’s Elyria facility is the company’s largest plant. Workers there make on-field helmets and shoulder pads and recondition athletic equipment.
“The NFL’s decision to eliminate an official helmet is not likely to translate into diminished use of our helmets and other equipment,” said a statement sent by company spokeswoman Erin Griffin. “We are proud of our relationship with the NFL.
“It is accurate that our current NFL agreement will expire next year. While NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has said that there will no longer be an ‘Official Helmet of the NFL’ specific to on-field promotional rights, we look forward to a continued positive and productive relationship with the NFL going forward.”
The company does not anticipate any effect on the Elyria operations or other facilities as a result of the NFL agreement expiring.
“We are proud of our continuing leadership as one of the largest employers in Elyria and Lorain County,” the Riddell statement said. “Our Elyria facility is and will continue to be a vital component of Riddell’s sustained industry leadership.
“As the football season winds down, the Elyria facility becomes more important and we look forward to continued expansion of our great workforce at this key location for our company.”
In its company history posted at www.riddell.com, Riddell noted in 1961, that Pete Rozelle, then-NFL commissioner, moved the headquarters to New York to be closer to television networks, connecting the small screen to football in 1964.
“Soon after, Riddell created one of the strongest branding placements in all sports for all to see every Saturday, Sunday and Monday,” the Riddell history said. “The Riddell word mark is now located front and center, between the screws.”
It is a reference to the nameplate that sits between helmet screws that hold the brackets that secure the players’ face masks.
Riddell also brands its VSR4 helmet as “an icon of the game.”
“The classic football helmet silhouette with its circular ear hole, clean face mask lines and perfectly rounded dome, still exists as the classic indication of America’s favorite sport,” the company history said.
The Riddell name agreement had been in place since 1989. ESPN’s Darren Rovell reported a more recent cause for concern by the league.
“But during the past few years, as the league became increasingly focused on concussions, NFL officials were more concerned about the implication of selling exclusive branding rights to one helmet company over another,” Rovell wrote.
In the 2012-13 season, 68 percent of NFL players wore Riddell helmets and the company expects that number to remain steady.
NFL players are not required to wear Riddell helmets; they may select another brand as long as it is certified by the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment. NFL helmets that are not Riddell have a helmet nameplate that may be blank or have the team name on it, McCarthy said.
On the Cleveland Browns, linebacker Quentin Groves has two Riddell helmets hanging in his locker.
“I like them,” Groves said. “I haven’t had a problem with them. They do their job. I’m not a big helmet guy. I don’t get all into the concussion thing. I just play the game of football. Whatever helmet I get to wear, I wear.”
Linebacker Paul Kruger wears a helmet made by Schutt, a Riddell competitor. He said he likes to wear the Schutt helmet because it has gel padding between the shell and foam padding.
“There are only so many options back there in the equipment room,” Kruger said. “I found one that fits well and it seems durable, and I roll with it.”
Riddell also claims more than 50 percent of the market for helmets for more than three million youth football players and about 1.3 million high school and college football players.